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	Urgently establish new international rules on autonomous weapon systems, to protect humanity by Antonio Guterres, Mirjana Spoljaric United Nations Secretary-General, International Committee of the Red Cross   In a joint appeal, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, and the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, are calling on political leaders to urgently establish new international rules on autonomous weapon systems, to protect humanity:   Today we are joining our voices to address an urgent humanitarian priority. The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) call on States to establish specific prohibitions and restrictions on autonomous weapon systems, to shield present and future generations from the consequences of their use. In the current security landscape, setting clear international red lines will benefit all States.   Autonomous weapon systems – generally understood as weapon systems that select targets and apply force without human intervention – pose serious humanitarian, legal, ethical and security concerns.   Their development and proliferation have the potential to significantly change the way wars are fought and contribute to global instability and heightened international tensions. By creating a perception of reduced risk to military forces and to civilians, they may lower the threshold for engaging in conflicts, inadvertently escalating violence.   We must act now to preserve human control over the use of force. Human control must be retained in life and death decisions. The autonomous targeting of humans by machines is a moral line that we must not cross. Machines with the power and discretion to take lives without human involvement should be prohibited by international law.   Our concerns have only been heightened by the increasing availability and accessibility of sophisticated new and emerging technologies, such as in robotics and Artificial Intelligence technologies, that could be integrated into autonomous weapons.   The very scientists and industry leaders responsible for such technological advances have also been sounding the alarm. If we are to harness new technologies for the good of humanity, we must first address the most urgent risks and avoid irreparable consequences.   This means prohibiting autonomous weapon systems which function in such a way that their effects cannot be predicted. For example, allowing autonomous weapons to be controlled by machine learning algorithms – fundamentally unpredictable software which writes itself – is an unacceptably dangerous proposition.   In addition, clear restrictions are needed for all other types of autonomous weapons, to ensure compliance with international law and ethical acceptability. These include limiting where, when and for how long they are used, the types of targets they strike and the scale of force used, as well as ensuring the ability for effective human supervision, and timely intervention and deactivation.   Despite the increasing reports of testing and use of various types of autonomous weapon systems, it is not too late to take action. After more than a decade of discussions within the United Nations, including in the Human Rights Council, under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and at the General Assembly, the foundation has been laid for the adoption of explicit prohibitions and restrictions. Now, States must build on this groundwork, and come together constructively to negotiate new rules that address the tangible threats posed by these weapon technologies.   International law, particularly international humanitarian law, prohibits certain weapons and sets general restrictions on the use of all others, and States and individuals remain accountable for any violations. However, without a specific international agreement governing autonomous weapon systems, States can hold different views about how these general rules apply. New international rules on autonomous weapons are therefore needed to clarify and strengthen existing law. They will be a preventive measure, an opportunity to protect those that may be affected by such weapons and essential to avoiding terrible consequences for humanity.   We call on world leaders to launch negotiations of a new legally binding instrument to set clear prohibitions and restrictions on autonomous weapon systems and to conclude such negotiations by 2026. We urge Members States to take decisive action now to protect humanity.   http://www.icrc.org/en/document/statement-icrc-president-mirjana-spoljaric-vienna-conference-autonomous-weapon-systems-2024 http://www.icrc.org/en/document/autonomous-weapons-icrc-submits-recommendations-un-secretary-general http://www.icrc.org/en/document/joint-call-un-and-icrc-establish-prohibitions-and-restrictions-autonomous-weapons-systems http://www.stopkillerrobots.org/news/landmark-joint-call/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/06/protect-humanity-killer-robots http://www.hrw.org/topic/arms/killer-robots   Apr. 2024   UN: Autonomous weapons systems in law enforcement: submission to the United Nations Secretary-General. (Amnesty International)   In response to Resolution 78/241 “Lethal autonomous weapon systems”, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 22 December 2023, Amnesty International would like to submit its views for consideration by the UN Secretary-General. The Resolution requests the Secretary-General to seek views on “ways to address the related challenges and concerns [that autonomous weapon systems] raise from humanitarian, legal, security, technological and ethical perspectives and on the role of humans in the use of force”.   While recognizing that much of this debate has focused on the use of AWS by the military in conflict settings, primarily using the international humanitarian law framework, this submission will highlight the intractable challenges related to the use of AWS in law enforcement contexts in relation to compliance with international human rights law and standards on the use of force. http://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ior40/7981/2024/en/ Visit the related web page
	Declaration of the Global People’s Assembly 2023 by Global Call for Action against Poverty, agencies   Feb. 2025   A Year for Action — For Economic, Social & Climate Justice and Gender Equality   This new year gives us the opportunity to face challenges together and renew our commitment to building a world of dignity, equality and justice for everyone.   The political situation across the globe present immense challenges. Donald Trump and other authoritarian figures are perpetuating policies that undermine democratic values and worsen conditions for migrants, minorities and excluded people. Climate change intensifies at an alarming pace, disproportionately impacting those who have contributed the least to its causes.   In 2025 we will work on four major global processes and events: Fourth Financing for Development (FfD4) Conference in Sevilla, Spain (30 June – 3 July); World Social Summit in Quatar (4 – 6 November); Climate COP30 in Belém, Brazil (10 – 21 November); G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa (22-23 November)   Economic justice is in the centre of our work. The current international financial system continues to deepen inequality, leaving millions trapped in poverty while a few accumulate vast wealth. Unjust debt burdens, tax avoidance by multinational corporations and the super-rich and a lack of fair global financial rules prevent governments from investing in essential services like healthcare, education, and social protection and in climate action.   To build a just and sustainable future, we must demand policies that prioritise people over profits, ensure fair taxation, cancel unsustainable debts and create economic structures that serve everyone, not just the powerful few.   With only five years remaining to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — a mere 17% are on track — there is a huge gap in public resources. This underscores the urgency of collective action. Let’s act together for a fairer world!   http://gcap.global/peoples-assembly/ http://gcap.global/agenda-2030/   Sep. 2023   Declaration of the Global People’s Assembly 2023   Halfway to Agenda 2030, we are still far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The draft 2023 Political Declaration fails to commit to the urgent action required to accelerate response towards the rising inequalities and poverty, for human rights, gender equality, social justice, peace, and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.   We demand governments match the political determination and persistence of civil society and activists, in all our diversity. Failure to achieve the SDGs – let alone make significant progress towards them – would be catastrophic for humanity and our planet.   This critical, interlinked Declaration of the 2023 Global People’s Assembly, co-created by over 40 national and regional People’s Assemblies and Global Peoples Assembly co-organizers, in all our diversities, is our shared and collective vision for a human-rights centered, gender transformative, intergenerational change to address the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated, and to accelerate the faltering progress toward the achievement of the SDGs.   1. Economic and Financial Justice   Reverse current patterns of consumption, production and global economic governance and decision-making power, in particular in the Global North, that are rooted in colonial histories and the concentration of wealth among the elite few, leading to the exploitation and destruction of people and the planet.   Establish a multilateral legal framework under the aegis of the UN to cancel, restructure, suspend, and lower rates on existing debt, and cease including austerity conditionalities in any new debt issued.   Call on governments to repudiate illegitimate debts that have harmed people and the planet. Privatization puts profits over people, and that very fact is fundamentally incompatible with human rights obligations. Reject corporate capture of the UN and all other multilateral spaces by, among other actions, negotiating and adopting a legally binding instrument on business and human rights, and establishing a binding convention and a global tax body under the auspices of the UN.   Build new paradigms of development and public policies centered on care, justice, human rights, reparations, and restoration. Deliver commitments on development cooperation volumes and effectiveness, especially the 0.7 GNI target for Official Development Assistance (ODA). Abandon economic systems dependent on the exploitation of the underpaid and unpaid labour of women and girls, and the unequal distribution of care and domestic responsibilities.   2. Climate and Environmental Justice   Abandon false solutions to the climate crisis in favor of human rights-based climate solutions that prioritize people over markets, protect ecologically sustainable food systems and healthy ecosystems, uphold Indigenous Peoples’ rights to land, territories, and resources, and the right of free, prior, and informed consent as human rights.   When Indigenous and rural people, especially women, have more secure land rights, they are in a better position to protect biodiversity and foster climate resilience; which is increasingly urgent as our climate crisis deepens. Increase and deliver on climate finance pledges, including loss and damage, in accordance with Common But Differentiated Responsibilities.   Address interlinkages between climate change, disaster risk reduction, and health and human rights for all. Ensure sufficient, safe, acceptable, accessible, and affordable access to water and sanitation through public, adequate, and community-owned services.   Prioritize investment in a just transition towards renewable energy infrastructure and technology that is community-owned and democratically controlled, while ensuring compliance with ethical, non-violent and human rights standards and sourcing. Adopt the fossil- fuel non-proliferation treaty.   3. Social Justice and Gender Equality   Eliminate all forms of discrimination and exclusion, including but not limited to caste, work and descent, class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, age, religion, geography and other marginalizations. Protect and uphold the human rights, including sexual and reproductive rights, of all people – particularly all women, girls, and gender-diverse people by removing discriminatory laws and policies that criminalize gender identity and expression, and sexuality.   Advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) through the provision of universal health care (UHC), provision of comprehensive sexuality education, and recognizing access to abortion as a human right. Address the root causes of and prevent gender-based violence by working with feminist groups to combat misogyny, patriarchy, ageism, and harmful gender norms guided by principles of intersectionality. Take targeted and sustained actions to remove gender bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.   Guarantee and allocate public financing and resources for social protection systems, establish the solidarity-based Global Fund for Social Protection and put in place public social infrastructure to eliminate inequalities. Abandon our current militarized and nationalized understandings of security, and in their place adopt understandings of security that center on human security, bodily autonomy, and the fulfilment of human rights.   4. Civil Society, Human Rights and the UN   Reverse the trend of shrinking and closing civic space in many countries in all regions across the globe, with Member States being held accountable for their egregious violation of international human rights standards.   Advance civil society access, leadership, and meaningful participation and decision-making within UN spaces and negotiation processes, especially historically marginalized and vulnerable communities.   An independent and fully funded civil society is a prerequisite for the development of policies that will enable us to live our lives in dignity and equality. Reclaim leadership of governments and the UN from the private sector and other actors encouraging them to weaken or abandon human rights obligations. Speak out against anti-gender and anti-rights narratives and actions by state and non-state actors, online and offline.   Protect human rights defenders from reprisals, harassment and persecution when they engage with UN spaces and mechanisms, and repeal laws and weaponizing of justice institutions to criminalize dissent, resistance, fact-checking, peaceful gatherings, protests and spreading awareness.   Unequivocally uphold freedom of speech, expression and safe assembly by safeguarding fundamental rights of all human rights defenders, climate justice activists, environmental defenders, peacebuilders, journalists, and other feminist and socio-economic defenders, enabling them to positively and safely influence the outcomes of these current and upcoming global and regional processes that impact our lives and futures.   http://www.peoplesassembly.global/en/ http://gcap.global/peoples-assembly/ http://gcap.global/news/declaration-of-the-gcap-global-assembly-2023-call-for-global-justice-to-achieve-the-sdgs/ http://gcap.global/news/campaign-for-social-security/ http://gcap.global/news/ Visit the related web page
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